Associations Among Depressive Symptoms, Wellness, Patient Involvement, Provider Cultural Competency, and Treatment Nonadherence: A Pilot Study Among Community Patients Seen at a University Medical Center

Treatment nonadherence is a pernicious problem associated with increasing rates of chronic diseases, escalating healthcare costs, and rising mortality in some patients. Although researchers have suggested numerous factors related to treatment nonadherence, several understudied aspects warrant attention, such as primary-care settings, provider cultural competence, and patient involvement. Adding to the research base, the present pilot study examined 88 primarily Black American and White American community patients from a large university medical center in the southern part of the United States. The study explored two research questions: (a) To what extent are there associations among depressive symptoms, wellness, patient involvement, cultural competency, and treatment nonadherence in a racially diverse community patient population? And (b) to what extent do the study exploratory variables and background characteristics predict treatment nonadherence, both separately and jointly? Depressive symptoms, the patient's perception of a provider's cultural competence, and marital/partnered status were found to be statistically significantly associated with treatment nonadherence, but not entirely in the directions expected.